


Poor Unfortunate Stella

by Sephirotha



Series: Final Fantasy Crossovers [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV, The Little Mermaid (1989)
Genre: Disney Parody, F/M, Little Mermaid Elements, Song Parody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 11:24:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17703422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephirotha/pseuds/Sephirotha
Summary: Ardyn lifted his chin with a wide grin.“Oh, my dear, sweet star!” he said as he got up.  “That is what I do.”He swum to the young mermaid, tentacles circling her.“It is what I live for,” he said as he placed a hand on his chest, “to help poor, unfortunate merfolk, like yourself.”





	Poor Unfortunate Stella

Stella stared at the wreckage of her den.  She gathered her tail in her arms and hid her face in the black scales.

It had been about five minutes since Gladiolus had stormed off, after wrecking her collection of human-made items.  It took Ignis and Noctis to calm him down whilst Prompto cowered behind her.

Ignis didn’t condone Gladiolus’s actions, but he did give a stern warning to Stella that humans were dangerous, and it was probably best for her to stop collecting their artefacts.

Prompto and Noctis tried to comfort her with hugs, only to be pushed away and asked to leave her be.

Stella lifted her head as the head of a stone statue fell next to her.  The prince’s eyes looked ahead unseeingly.

The mermaid princess reached out to touch it, then jumped when a sea serpent poked its head out from behind.  It bared its sharp teeth and its eyes emitted an eerie, violet glow.

_“My poor star.”_

Stella gasped and moved back at the voice that echoed in the cavern.  The serpent swum closer.

_“So unfair that your beloved is in a different world to you.”_

Stella’s bottom lip wobbled as it laid its head in her lap, looking up at her.

_“I can help you, little princess.”_

Stella’s blue eyes lost their colour, turning into a pale grey.  A chuckle reverberated through the cave.

_“Follow the lights, little star.  Good girl.”_

The serpent swum off, disappearing into the shadows.  Stella pushed herself up and swum out of the grotto through the skylight.

 

* * *

 

Prompto looked teary as Noctis swum around the coral reef moodily.

“Poor Stells,” the blonde said glumly.

“Stupid Gladio,” Noctis snarled as he slammed his tail against a brain coral.  “What’d he get so jealous for?  It’s not like that human’s going to notice Stells.  It’s just some teenage fantasy.”

Prompto rubbed his nose and looked up towards the surface.  He gasped and grabbed Noctis’s arm.

“Noct!”

Noctis looked up and they saw Stella swimming off, towards the red trenches that were out of bounds for Lucian merfolk.

“Stells!”

Prompto and Noctis got up to swim after her, only to have their paths blocked by a group of skeletal sharks.  Prompto shrieked as the daemons gnashed their jaws and chased the two around the coral reef.

 

* * *

 

Stella regained her senses at the entrance of a cavern made of red rock.  There was an eerie magenta light lingering inside, beckoning for her to come in.

_“This way, sweet star.”_

Stella looked around.  She didn’t recognise the area.  She could gather that she was in a trench and when she looked up, she couldn’t see the sun reflecting off the surface.

She nibbled her lip and cautiously swum in.

She lurched up when little daemons skittered across the floor of the cavern, grinning at her with their hideous teeth and jumping to grab her tail fins.  She swum up, nearly bumping her head on the ceiling.

“Come in!” a voice called for her deeper in the cave.  “Come in, my little star.”

Stella swallowed as she swum deeper, reaching a room.  There was a large black rock with mist escaping its cracks in the middle, a cupboard in the corner and a cracked mirror to the side.  Two rocks were on either side of the large black rock to be used as seats.

The young princess looked around and looked up, gasping as a pair of golden eyes looked down at her from the dark.

“Come now, dear child.”

The person leaned forward, revealing a set of sharp teeth in his smile.  His red hair moved with the water as he cupped his face, tilting his head at the mermaid.

“There is no need to be afraid of your Uncle Ardyn.”

Stella shivered as he looked her up and down.  As he swum down from his lair, Stella’s senses began going off as she noticed that he was half octopus, with long dark red tentacles that never seemed to end.

He landed next to her and she turned to swim back out.  She gasped as a tentacle grabbed her by the tail and pulled her back.

“Now, now,” he said with a wag of his finger as he yanked her to sit on one of the chairs, “after bringing you all this way, you mustn’t swim off.”

He sat down on the other chair, pushing some hair out of his face.

“It is terribly rude.  One might question your upbringing.”

He smirked as Stella shifted on her seat, gripping her hands.

“Now, little one,” he hummed as he leaned his elbow on the rock, supporting his chin with his thumb, “you’re here because you’ve become smitten with this…prince.  A human.”

The cracked mirror misted over before revealing the human that Stella had saved last morning.  Her breath hitched as she watched him stroll along the beach, silver hair swaying with the breeze and mismatched eyes focused on the sand before him.

Ardyn smirked.

“Not that I blame you,” he shrugged, “he is quite the catch, isn’t he?”

He chuckled as he waved a hand, the vision disappearing.

“Now, darling star,” he hummed as he laced his fingers together, “the solution to your problem is quite simple.”  He smirked behind his hands.  “The only way to get what your heart wants, is to become a human yourself.”

Stella’s eyes lit up hopefully.

“You…” she murmured as she unconsciously leaned forward, “you can do that?”

Ardyn lifted his chin with a wide grin.

“Oh, my dear, sweet star!” he said as he got up.  “That is what I do.”

He swum to the young mermaid, tentacles circling her.

“It is what I live for,” he said as he placed a hand on his chest, “to help poor, unfortunate merfolk, like yourself.”

Stella leaned back as he cupped her cheek, dark red nails grazing her skin.

“Poor souls, who have no one else to turn to…”

He retreated a little, smiling at her.

“I admit that in the past, I’ve been a nasty.  They weren’t kidding when they called me, well, wicked.”

He chuckled lasciviously.

“But you’ll find that nowadays, I’ve mended all my ways.”

He sat on the rock, waving a hand dismissively.

“Repented, seen the light, made a switch.”

He leaned back, eyes twinkling mischievously.

“And I fortunately know a little magic,” he said, and Stella stiffened, “it’s a talent that I always have possessed.”

He swum off the rock and Stella jumped as it split open, showing it to be a cauldron of sorts.

“And here lately…” he hummed then wagged a finger at her, “please, don’t laugh.  I’ve used it on behalf on the miserable and lonely and depressed.”

Misty visions of mermaids, ranging from obese to malnourished to deformed, appeared in front of Stella and sympathy flickered across her eyes.

“Pathetic,” Ardyn muttered under his breath.

He circled the visions, running his hand along the rocky edge of his cauldron.

“Poor unfortunate souls,” he sighed, “in pain, in need.”

He wrapped an arm around Stella’s shoulders and pointed to a fatter mermaid and a skinny, wretched looking merman.

“This one longing to be thinner,” he said by the princess’s ear, “that one wants to get the girl.”

He smirked.

“And do I help them?”

With a snap of his fingers, the mermaid was thin and beautiful, and the merman had muscles that could rival Gladio’s.  The visions looked at each other and embraced.

“Yes, indeed,” Ardyn purred as he withdrew from Stella, tentacles brushing along her shivering form.  “Those poor unfortunate souls.  So sad, so true.”

He circled the cauldron once more, eyeing the happy couple in the centre.

“They come flocking to my cauldron, crying ‘Help me, Ardyn, please!’.  And I help them.”

He paused, shrugging.  “Yes, I do.”

His smirk turned malicious and he held a finger out to Stella.

“Now, it’s happened once or twice.”  He glanced at the embracing couple.  “Someone couldn’t pay the price.” 

The blissful look on the merfolk disappeared as they looked at Ardyn in horror.  He extended a hand and the merman showed his empty hands, shaking his head.

“And I’m afraid, I’ve had rake them across the coals…”

He waved his hand and the couple turned into hideous daemons.  Stella covered her mouth in horror, and they disappeared into pink mist.

“Yes, I’ve had the odd complaint,” Ardyn hummed as he swum into her line of sight, hand pressed on his heart, “but on the whole I’ve been a saint!”

Stella flinched as he leaned closer, brushing a lock of hair out of her face.

“To those poor unfortunate souls…”

He grabbed her chin and pulled her closer, out of her seat and directly in front of the cauldron.

“Now,” he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, tentacles caressing her tail, “here’s my deal.  I will make you a potion to turn you into a human for three days.”

He turned her face to look at him.

“You got that?”  He held three fingers in front of her.  “Three.  Days.”

Stella swallowed as she nodded.  Her eyes wandered to the cauldron again and Ardyn snapped his fingers again.

“Now, listen, little star,” he cooed as Stella snapped her attention back to him, “this is important.”

Stella nodded, looking into his eyes.  Ardyn smiled.

“Before the sun sets on the third day, you need to get your Prince Charming to fall in love with you.”

Ardyn’s hand squeezed her shoulder.

“That is, he has to kiss you.”

He hooked his finger under her chin and tilted it up.

“But, not just any kiss,” he hummed, licking his lips.  “The kiss of true love.”

Stella’s eyes widened as a blush decorated her cheeks.

“If he does kiss you before the sun sets on the third day,” Ardyn hummed as a misty version of Stella with the prince appeared in the cauldron, “you’ll remain human permanently.”

The prince picked Stella up by the hips and spun her around.  Stella’s heart fluttered at the thought.

“But,” Ardyn’s voice cut through her fantasy, “if he doesn’t, you’ll turn back into a mermaid and…”

Stella watched as the mist version of her turned into a mermaid and fell out of the prince’s arms.  A mist version of Ardyn appeared underneath her and caught her.

Stella swallowed as the vision disappeared and Ardyn turned to face him.  He cupped her face with a smile, tentacles constricting her tail.

“…you’ll belong to me.”

“No, Stells!”

Stella and Ardyn turned and saw Prompto and Noctis had just come in.  Ardyn narrowed his eyes and two tentacles slammed the merboys.  He wrapped one around Noctis’s mouth and Prompto scrabbled at the one around his neck.

“Do we have a deal?” Ardyn asked as he pulled Stella’s face back to him.

Stella’s eyes lingered towards Noctis, who was shaking his head furiously, teeth sinking into the tentacle in his mouth.  Ardyn seemed unaffected by it.

“If I become human…” Stella murmured.  “I’d never see Noct or Father or my friends again…”

Ardyn hummed, tapping his chin.

“That’s right.  But you’d have your prince.”  He smirked.  “Poor star, life is full of tough choices, isn’t it?”

Noctis sunk his teeth deeper into the tentacle as Ardyn’s fingers brushed back more hair from Stella’s face.

“Of course, there is one little detail we’ve almost forgotten.”  He grabbed her chin and tilted it up.  “We haven’t discussed the subject of payment.  You can’t get something for nothing, you know.”

Stella’s eyes widened.  “But I…”

“I’m not asking for much,” Ardyn interrupted her, placing his fingers on her lips.  “Just a token really, a trifle.  You’ll hardly miss it.”  He flashed his sharp teeth with a wicked grin.  “What I want from you is…”  He placed his hands on her neck, thumbs brushing her throat.  “…your voice.”

Stella’s eyes widened whilst Noctis and Prompto thrashed about more aggressively.

“My voice?” she murmured.

“Exactly, my star,” Ardyn said.  “No more talking, singing, zip!”

Stella frowned.  “But without my voice, how…?”

“You have your looks,” Ardyn said as he circled her, fingers brushing her cheek, “that pretty face.”  He smirked.  “And never underestimate the power of body language!”

He laughed as he squeezed her hips and Stella squeaked, darting away from him.

“The men up there don’t like a lot of blabber,” Ardyn waved a hand dismissively as he used his tentacles to open the cupboard in the corner.  “They think a girl who gossips is a bore.”

He picked out a colourful variety of bottles, holding them close to examine them.

“Yes, on land it’s much preferred for ladies not to say a word,” he said with a thoughtful look, “and after all, dear, what is idle prattle for?”

He began slinging certain bottles into the cauldron, putting others back in the cupboard during the process.

“Come on, they’re not all that impressed with conversation!  True gentlemen avoid it when they can.”

He swum closer to Stella, fingers under her chin and tilting it up to look into her eyes.

“But they dote and swoon and fawn on a lady who’s withdrawn.  It’s she who holds her tongue who gets her man!”

He grabbed a shark’s tongue from the cupboard and threw it into the cauldron.  Purple smoke erupted from it and Stella swum back in alarm.

“Come on, you poor unfortunate soul!”

Ardyn moved behind Stella, grabbing her shoulders.

“Go ahead!  Make your choice!”

He swum around the cauldron, adding more ingredients.

“I’m a very busy man, and I haven’t got all day…”

A mist version of the prince appeared in the centre of the cauldron.  Stella’s heart leapt as she swum closer to take a closer look.

“It won’t cost much…”

The prince smiled and reached out for Stella.

“Just your voice!”

Stella leaned back to avoid Ardyn’s sharp teeth as he leaned over the cauldron to disturb the mist.

“You poor unfortunate soul.  It’s sad, but true!”

He was by her side in a flash, a scroll and a pen appearing before them.  He squeezed her shoulder as he brought her closer.

“If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet, you’ve got to pay the toll.  Take a gulp and take a breath and go ahead and sign the scroll!”

He left her side to go to the merboys, leaving Stella to look at the pen and scroll uncertainly.

“Noct, Prompto, now I have her!” he murmured sinisterly, causing aggravated reactions from them.  “This king is on a roll!”

Noctis and Prompto shook their heads furiously at Stella as she looked around, squeezing her wrists.

“This poor…”

Stella’s look hardened as she grabbed the pen.

“Unfortunate…”

She closed her eyes and looked away from the scroll.

“Soul!”

She signed her name at the bottom of the contract and Ardyn snatched it up the moment the pen left the scroll.

He dropped the boys and circled the cauldron.

“Beluga, sevruga, ventis veni ad mare Caspium patens!” he chanted as currents swirled around the cave.

The three merfolk watched the smoke encircle Stella as Ardyn gripped the edge of his cauldron.

“Vesalius, glossitis, vox eius me adducere!”

He reached out, fingers brushing her chin.

“Now,” he hissed as misty hands appeared behind him, “sing!”

“Stells, no…” Noctis whined and Ardyn pinned him and Prompto down with a couple of tentacles.

Stella closed her eyes, opened her mouth and her singing filled the cave.  Ardyn’s eyes glowed as he grinned wider.

“Keep singing!” he demanded as the hands reached out for Stella.

Stella’s singing didn’t waver as the hands grew closer, one going down her throat and pulling out a blue ball.  The princess held her throat with wide eyes as her voice continued echoing in the cave.  Ardyn held out a nautilus shell, his eyes lighting up as the ball, representing the princess’s voice, disappeared inside.

He laughed gleefully as the smoke closed in on Stella.  Prompto covered his mouth as he and the prince beside him witnessed Stella’s shadow writhe in the shadows.  Her arms flailed as her tail wriggled until it split in half.

The smoke cleared and Stella flailed in the water with her new legs.

“Swim, little star!” Ardyn shouted in his laughter as Prompto and Noctis were released.  “Swim, my sweet little human!  You don’t want to drown now, do you?!”

Noctis and Prompto grabbed Stella by her arms and swum out of the cave.  They rushed her to the surface where she took her first breath.

Her eyes winced at the sunlight as she rested on her brother, her chest heaving as air filled her lungs.

“Stells…” Prompto murmured and Noctis shook his head.

The merboys swum Stella towards the coast nearby.


End file.
